Amazon job fair draws hundreds
Job-seekers hope to land on-the-spot job offers
KENOSHA - Hundreds of people lined up Wednesday outside the Amazon fulfillment center here, hoping to land on-the-spot job offers.
They were participating in a job fair the online retailer held at 10 sites across the country, part of an effort by the company to fill 50,000 new packing and shipping jobs.
The job-seekers, ranging from college students to parents, said they were drawn to Amazon for the pay, flexible hours, benefits and the company’s upward trajectory.
“I’ve seen it on the news — it’s a great opportunity for a lot of residents in Wisconsin to gain employment,” said Krystal Brown, a mother of four who hopes to land a job with regular hours. For Brown, the benefits and hours are worth the 30-minute commute from Milwaukee.
Though it’s common for Amazon to ramp up its shipping center staff in August to prepare for holiday shopping, the magnitude of the hiring spree underscores Amazon’s growth when traditional retailers are closing stores — and blaming Amazon for a shift to buying goods online.
Full-time jobs at Amazon in Kenosha have a pay range of $12.25 to $13.25, according to the company’s website. Parttime positions start at $11.75 an hour. Most of the jobs will be full-time, the company said.
At the Kenosha fulfillment center, Amazon employees in orange shirts kept a long line of applicants occupied with snow cones and raffle tickets for Amazon-branded gear. Once registered, applicants could conduct interviews with recruiters.
Among the job seekers, chatter about the Kenosha facility’s proposed neighbor, Foxconn Technology Group, was limited.
Few job applicants interviewed had heard of the technology giant’s plan to build a sprawling factory complex in southeastern Wisconsin.
But Danny Aviles, who has kept tabs on Foxconn in the
news, said he was excited for Foxconn’s effect on the local labor market, anticipating wage hikes and greater worker turnover as both Amazon and Foxconn try to hire and retain employees.
“I think he’s a Foxconn recruiter,” joked Trevor Liberman, who was in front of him in line.
Both men were applying for Amazon jobs in hopes of kick-starting a new future. For Liberman, a recent college graduate and Illinois resident, the job represents a foot in the door at the ecommerce company. “I’m not picky at the moment,” he said.
Aviles, a Racine resident who worked at the Chrysler engine plant in Kenosha for 26 years until it was shuttered in
2010, has since shuffled through a series of temporary jobs. He sees Amazon as “a dream opportunity.”
The company was also taking applications from those interested in support and managerial roles.
Valerie Cook, an independent contractor in finance working in Chicago, said she is struggling with rising health insurance costs. She sees the Amazon job fair as a chance to secure a job with benefits.
“The bottom line is,
people want to work, take care of their families and pay the bills,” she said.
Quinton Michalski, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, said he’s been keeping tabs on Amazon’s stock prices. He’s bullish on the future of the company and his own future there, too.
“I came without a resume,” Michalski said. “I’m hoping to meet with an HR manager and leave a good impression. Hopefully, they call me back.”